Support for Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes to win MVP award grows after Sunday’s victory
Last week, The Star’s Sam Mellinger made a convincing case for why Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes should win the MVP award this season.
The Chiefs’ 27-24 win over the Ravens only seemed to improve Mahomes’ standing in the MVP race (his main competition seems to be Saints quarterback Drew Brees and Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald).
Here is a sample of what national NFL observers were saying/writing about Mahomes after the Chiefs beat Baltimore in overtime.
Jason La Canfora wrote: “Patrick Mahomes is the NFL’s Most Valuable Player.
“I have seen enough. Go ahead and engrave the trophy now. I don’t care if he doesn’t play another snap this season. I don’t care about any counter-arguments (although at this point Aaron Donald might be the best/only serious opposition he has). This kid is the best football player in the NFL right now, and he is doing things no one else does.
“Mahomes was, to me, more impressive than ever on Sunday. This wasn’t going to be a week where the Chiefs came out and scored on five straight drives to open the game. ...
“It was going to be a day where the Chiefs would have to win ugly and overcome their defense in order to clinch a playoff spot, avoid the Chargers nipping at them in the AFC West standings and take full advantage of an afternoon when the Texans and Patriots lost games they were favored to win. And make no mistake, with Kareem Hunt released a week ago, Sammy Watkins hurt again, Tyreek Hill limping around, Spencer Ware needing medical attention and Kansas City’s offensive line bullied by Baltimore’s pass rush, it was Mahomes who made it all happen in a wild, 27-24 overtime win.”
You can read more of what La Canfora wrote here.
Brian Baldinger of the NFL Network said Mahomes is the MVP and should get an award for being the toughest player in the league:
Danny Heifetz of The Ringer wrote: “Even weirder than the Chiefs being down 24-17 was that the Chiefs were trailing to a team that ran the ball and played defense (so 2006)—a far cry from the teams that Kansas City had lost to this season, the Patriots and the Rams. Yet there the Chiefs were: down seven points with less than two minutes to play and facing a fourth-and-9 on their own 40-yard line. But, as he had done so many times this season, Mahomes conjured up a truly MVP-caliber play: This time it was a cross-body throw that went more than 30 yards and fell into Tyreek Hill’s breadbasket to get the Chiefs to the Baltimore 12-yard line.
“Four plays later, Mahomes threw another fourth-down pass, this one a touchdown to running back Damien Williams that tied the game with less than a minute to play. The Chiefs would ultimately win 27-24 in overtime, as Mahomes finished with 35 completions on 53 attempts for 377 yards (7.1 yards per attempt), two touchdowns, and one interception against Baltimore’s fourth-ranked defense by DVOA. The lasting memory will be his desperation throw to Hill that saved the game and may have put him back in the driver’s seat for the 2018 MVP award ...
You can read more of what Heifetz wrote here.
On NBC, both former Colts coach Tony Dungy and former Chargers cornerback Rodney Harrison saluted Mahomes:
Tyler Conway of Bleacher Report wrote: “Drew Brees has thrown for an average of 166.3 yards per game over his last three games.
“Mahomes is racking up those numbers per half during the same timeframe.
“Sometimes raw yardage numbers don’t tell the full story.
“In this case, they totally do. Mahomes is the NFL’s MVP, and it should not be considered all that close at this point. You could say his cross-body throw to Tyreek Hill on the Chiefs’ game-tying drive in the fourth quarter was his MVP moment—if only there weren’t already so many of those moments already in this spectacular season.
“Kudos to Hill as well, battling through an obviously painful foot problem to haul in that catch and play a huge role in overtime.
“While obviously a very secondary issue, Mahomes’ brilliance in the wake of Kareem Hunt’s release has only further solidified his MVP campaign. In back-to-back weeks, Mahomes has foisted the team on his back and done whatever it has taken to push the Chiefs to win close games. He was near-flawless through the air last week and was the Chiefs’ leading rusher.”
You can read more of what Conway wrote here.
Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com tweeted this:
Terez A. Paylor of Yahoo Sports wrote: “When the Chiefs’ much-maligned defense couldn’t stop a physical-grind-it-out Ravens squad from running the ball Sunday, and Mahomes threw a crucial third-quarter interception that helped the Ravens eventually take a 24-17 fourth-quarter lead, fans were ready to unleash on Reid for everything from his in-game clock management to his decision to retain lightning-rod defensive coordinator Bob Sutton this offseason.
“And then suddenly something — actually, someone — happened.
“Mahomes, the should-be MVP. ...
“With the Chiefs down seven and facing a fourth-and-9 at their own 40-yard line against the league’s No. 1 defense, Mahomes proceeded to uncork a crossbody heave over the middle, all while drifting to his right, to star receiver Tyreek Hill for a 48-yard gain that gave the Chiefs life.
“In a season full of highlight-reel throws that can’t be recreated in ‘Madden,’ this was perhaps the most ridiculous of all.”
You can read more of what Paylor wrote here.
This story was originally published December 10, 2018 at 11:03 AM.
